Fence-brace.



No. 758,576. IPA-TENTH!) APR. 26, 1904.

A. W. WHALEY- Y FENCE BRAGE.

- APPLICATION FILED APR. 17, 1903.

no MODEL.

0 (71 m L Y w l" n I I Z ham wanker:

. WMMMW attozmg I UNITED STATES Patented April 26, 1904.

PATENT OFFIC FENCEH-BRACFEQ SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters PatentNo 758,576, dated Apri126, 1904. Application filed April 1'7, 1903.Serial No. 153,026. (No model.) I

To all whom it nmy concern.-

Be it known .that I, -ABNER W. INHALEY, a citizen of the United States,residing at Morocco, in the county'of Newton and State of Indiana, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Fence-Braces, of whichthe following is a specification.

At the present day it is the practice in constructing woven-wire fencesto erect the fenceposts and secure to the terminal post at one end ofthe course a series of line-wires, which are placed under tensionlongitudinally by means of a tension device braced from the terminalpost at the other end of the course and sustained by suitable guy-wires.The tension device usually comprises a vertically-disposed bar oftubular form provided with suitable devices for engaging the.line-wires, the devices being operable for maintaining the wires undertension, as before stated. The weavingmachine travels upon theline-wires, and'with the form of'braces now employed for sustaining thetension-bar from the terminal post it is generally impracticable for theweavingmachine to work past the post, thus rendering it necessary toremove the braces, which relaxes the tension of the line-wires, wherebyit is practically impossible to complete the weaving of the wire bymachine and makes it necessary to finish the weaving process at theterminal of the course by hand.

My invention has for its objects to produce a simple and eflicient formof brace which will in practice properly sustain the tension-bar withoutthe employment of guy-wires and will permit the weaving-machine totravel .freely upon the line-wires between the terminal post andtension-bar.

To these ends the invention comprises the novel details of constructionand combination of parts more fully hereinafter described.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a side elevation of a portionof a wire fence under construction and having my improved form of braceapplied thereto. Fig. 2 is a top sectional plan of the same. Fig. 3 is aperspective view of one of the braces.

Referring to the drawings, 1 indicates the terminal posts of a fencecourse; 2, the intermedlate posts; 3, the line-wires secured in anysuitable manner to one of .the terminal posts;

4c, the weaving-machine arranged to travel upon the line-wires; 5, theupright tensionbar provided with suitable tension devices 6, and 7 thebraces interposed between the terminal post 1 and the uprighttension-bar 5. These parts, with the exception of the braces, mayall beof the usual or any desired construction and material, inasmuch as theyconstitute no part of my invention.

In accordance with my invention I form the braces from any suitablematerial, with a head 8 at one end socketed, as at 9, to engage thecylindrical tension; bar 5 and sharpenedor pointed at the opposite end,as at 10, to engage the terminal post 1 of the fence. These braces areso formed that when in position they will bend laterally outward in ahorizontal plane parallel with the longitudinal plane of the fence at apoint adjacent to their point of engagement with the terminal post andcontinue thence rearward in substantially parallel relation to thelongitudinal axis of the fence, thus affording ample room for thepassage of the weaving-machine beyond the terminal post and its freetravel upon the linewires between the terminal post and tensionbar. Inthis connection attention is especially directed to'the fact that thebrace serves the further function of swinging the. tension-bar laterallyout of alinement with the fence-post, thus maintaining the line-wires incontact with the post and causing them to exert tension upon the bracesin a suitable direction for maintaining the pointed end of the same insecure engagement with the terminal post, thus obviating theemploymentof guy-wires. From the foregoing it will be seen that Iproduce a simple and efficient brace which will in practice permit theweaving-machine to travel} beyond the terminal post and freely upon theline-wires between the post and tension-bar, as before stated, thusenabling the weaving of the wire forming the fence to be whollycompleted by machine and obviatingthe objectionable featureshereinbefore pointed out. In attaining these ends it is to be understoodthat I do not limit myself to the precise details herein shown anddescribed, inasmuch as minor changes may be made therein 0 withoutdeparting from the spirit or scope of my invention.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is 1. A brace of theclass described, adapted for interposition between a fence-post andstretcher member and having means for engagement with said parts, saidbrace being bent laterally in a horizontal plane adjacent to its pointof engagement with the post and extended thence in substantiallyparallel relation with the longitudinal axis of the fence, whereby aweaver traveling on the latter may pass the post and work freely betweenthe same and the stretcher.

2. A brace of the class described, adapted for interposition between afence-post and stretcher member and having a socketed head forengagement with the latter and a sharpened end for engaging the former,said brace being bent laterally in a horizontal plane adjacent to itspoint of engagement with the post and extended thence in substantiallyparallel relation with the longitudinal axis of the fence, whereby aweaver traveling on the latter may pass the post and work freely betweenthe same and the stretcher.

In testimony whereofI have signed my name to this specification inpresence of two witnesses.

ABNER W. VVHALEY. Witnesses:

THOMAS M. VVHALEY, WILLIAM E. WHALEY.

